Discover

Stories from behind museum walls

Discover scientific breakthroughs, cultural innovation, community projects and long lost histories at Museum Lectures this winter!

12 June 2018

Museums Victoria staff member presenting a talk in the Melbourne Museum theatre.

This winter Melbourne Museum will host Museum Lectures, an enlightening series of talks by Museums Victoria's curators, historians and scientists, which will provide fascinating insight into life within Australia's largest museum organisation.

The displays and exhibits across our museums (Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and Immigration Museum) provide only a tiny hint at the myriad of stories held within the Victorian State Collection of over 17 million items. Just beyond the public spaces are stores that hold this vast and important collection of rare specimens, fossils, cultural artefacts, rare books and historical items.

Within this labyrinth of corridors and storerooms across Melbourne, there is a hive of activity as teams of specialists lead and collaborate on projects that contribute important new knowledge and understanding of the world around us.

Covering the gamut of science, history and Indigenous culture, Museum Lectures will take a deep dive into a range of fascinating topics including a recent Antarctic research voyage, the problem with plastics, and key works in the museum collection by female First Peoples, in honour of the 2018 NAIDOC theme "Because of Her We Can".

Museum Lectures Winter Series:

A Million Pounds and Not a Penny Return: A Victorian Gold Mining SagaWednesday 13 June, 5.30pm–6.30pmLearn from Matthew Churchward (Senior Curator of Transport & Engineering) how British investors lost a fortune in an ambitious scheme to revive Victoria’s deep lead gold mines in the 1890s.

From the Bog to the Biobank: A Quest to Understand Victoria's Endangered FrogsWednesday 20 June, 1pm–2pmMeet some of Victoria's frogs as Jane Melville (Senior Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates) and Joanna Sumner (Manager of Genetic Resources) describe their work on these fabulous amphibians.

The Intersection of Art & Historical Collections: First Peoples Women, Creative Practice and the MuseumWednesday 18 July, 5.30pm–6.30pmIn honour of 2018 NAIDOC theme "Because Of Her We Can", by Kimberley Moulton (Senior Curator of South Eastern First Peoples Collections) this lecture will highlight key works in the collection by female First Peoples.

The Problem with PlasticsWednesday 22 August, 5.30pm–6.30pmDiscover how the preservation of plastics is becoming one of the major museum collection management issues of the 21st century, as discussed by conservators Petronella Nell, Julianne Bell, Alice Cannon and Karina Palmer.